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My first bit of advice is not to buy a model you haven't shot before. Some ranges will have guns you can rent, or you can go shooting with people who have pistols you want to try out before you settle on one. Each person you ask will have a different opinion on which manufacturer makes the best handgun and which caliber reigns supreme. It all comes down to this: which platform best allows you to quickly and accurately put rounds on target?

Personally, I do my best with an M9A1 (Beretta 9mm). I've shot a wide range of pistols from .38 specials to Desert Eagles, and I'm most comfortable and consistent with the M9 (more or less the same as the 92FS). If I had a bigger budget I may have sprung for the more expensive Sig P226, but the M9 had a good price point and since I'm not a SEAL the M9 will be my standard sidearm after I get my commission.

The blog Gear Scout just ran a good article for people looking into 1911's a few days ago that's worth checking out.

Whatever you end up getting- practice is the key. Going over the fundamentals of proper aiming, breathing, grip, and stance will make the tool in your hands an effective one.

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I like to shoot the breeze - and sometimes I will do it while shooting from the hip, I once thought about trying to shoot for the moon, then found it easier while talking nonsense to shoot the works.

The previous post from BigTex sums it up. You can get opinions - but that gets you no where. Do your best to find a shoot club and see if you can try different handguns; I have a friend who luvs to shoot Glock, I personnaly do not and prefer other weapons I have shot. So now that you know this, all you know is one person you have never met knows someone who loves Glock handguns, while that person does not. You can also read reviews, and other than qulity and craftsmanship points, you still do not know how the gun shoots while in your hands as you look down the sights...

You have to find a hangun that fits you, and there is a long list of versions and calibers that you have to choose from and sample - it should be a fun journey as long as you shoot staright and keep your powder dry.

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Thanks. I've shot a Glock often and I like the light weight and sights, however I DON'T like the fact that there is no external safety aside from what they call a safety on the trigger. I also recently qualified with an M9 and I liked it. Most of the people I talk to prefer a Glock and, for the most part, I can see why. But I think it would be a better bet to have a pistol that has that double-action capability as well as a hammer. Granted, a SIG P226 can also fit that category but I've never fired one and I agree with bigtex in the fact that I should shoot a handgun before I purchase it. Also, I may elect to conceal carry whatever handgun I get, so size might be an issue so the Glock 19 may be a better choice than the Glock 17, 21 or SIG P226 or M9. I just have to shoot around and see what I like.

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Why are you looking for a handgun? Answer that question first, then look for a platform to fit that purpose. If you have several different missions in mind, then you might end up purchasing several different firearms.

I'm a fairly big guy, living in a region that requires a jacket for most of the year, and I mostly just shoot IDPA, but I also keep self-defense and concealed carry in mind. I use a Les Baer 1911 Premier II (45 ACP) and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the heck out of it, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily the right gun for YOU and/or YOUR purpose. I feed it handmade custom loads through Tripp Research cobra magazines (8R-45-RG-BPA with alloy bases). A smaller guy in a warmer climate might not be able to get away with concealed carry of a 1911 and might want to look at something smaller.

I'll also probably be looking for a single-action revolver this winter so I can start shooting SASS next year. That looks like loads of fun! (pardon the pun)

If you're going to shoot handguns and plan to be proficient at it, you should seriously look into reloading your own ammo. I EASILY blow through 200-300 rounds every week just by myself. Some weeks I've even fired over 600 rounds. That could get ridiculously expensive if you're only buying factory ammo, especially if it's 45 ACP.

Also, if you reload, you can customize your loads and experiment a little to find what bullet (manufacturer/brand, type, shape, weight), powder (manufacturer/brand, type, weight), and primer combinations work best in your specific gun. While there is a bigger upfront cost because of the tools you'll need to purchase, you'll be able to shoot more for less and you'll make your money back fairly quickly.

Don't buy junk (guns or reloading equipment). It might be cheaper in the short term, but you might regret it in the long term. Quality, consistency, dependability, and accuracy are much more important considerations than price for me, and there are some cheap guns out there. This doesn't mean buy the most expensive gun you can find, but rather find the best gun for the value. If you have to save a little more and wait a little longer, do it, it's worth the wait.

Finally, when cleaning your pistol, I recommend that you don't use anything that's as hard or harder than the steel of the firearm. I use bronze cleaning rods and brushes and avoid steel cleaning tools. A scratch in the barrel is not a good thing and it's completely avoidable. I also use a plastic wrench for the recoil spring plug/button instead of a steel one to avoid marring the gun. I go through a lot of plastic wrenches, but they're pretty cheap.

The bottom line is that when the feces hits the rotating oscillator, I want to have 110% confidence in my firearm, the magazines feeding it, the ammo being used, and my proficiency.

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FWIW - I have the Walther P99AS. AS is the "Anti-Stress" model which has a DA trigger for the first shot and SA trigger for all subsequents shots to prevent accidental discharges in stressful situations. It has an internal trigger with a decock button on the slide. I love that it comes with three interchangable backstraps as well that let me fit it to my hand. But the thing I loved the most about this pistol is that from the first time I picked it up, it was (and still is) the most acurate pistol I have ever fired. Now, I do not go to the range all the time or have a lot of training (yet), so it may not be as impressively accurate to someone with access to higher quality models and years of training, but it works great for me.
The only dislike I have is that it is not sized well for CC. It doesn't seem to be any larger than comprable pistols, but they have come out with a single stack CC version that I have my eyes on.
Of course, as others have said, with pistols, everyone needs to find one that fits them.

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I recently purchased a 9mm Glock 17. I LOVE IT! Great weight, Minimum recoil, Easy to clean and simple to strip. I would go with a Glock. Plus the Metal slide and Plastic grip base is a nice carry combination weight wise.

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In regards to caliber, make sure you consider the cost of ammunition and what you're willing to spend for an hour out on the shooting range. 9mm is about half the price of .40. Practice develops muscle memory so the more rounds you can [correctly] sling at a paper target the better off you'll be.

Another great military benefit in Texas is you don't have to pay for processing or background check on your CHL- leaving just the cost of the class.